Afghanistan

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the UK armed forces who served in Afghanistan during (a) Operation Herrick 8, (b) Operation Herrick 9 and (c) Operation Herrick 10 have died since their return from Afghanistan; what the parent regiment of each such person was; and whether each death (i) took place (A) while the person was still serving in the armed forces or (B) after discharge and (ii) has been (1) ruled a suicide or (2) judged to be a potential suicide.

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not hold data relating to cause of death for service personnel once they have left service, thus we are unable to provide a response to the number of suicides after discharge. The MOD is also not in receipt of routine notification of deaths to reservist personnel unless they are mobilised.
	The post tour suicides or potential suicides of armed forces personnel who had been deployed on Operation Herrick 8, 9 and 10 and who were still serving at the time of their death, are set out in the following table (to protect the identity of individuals the information provided is by service in place of regiment):
	
		
			 UK armed forces post operational suicides—Operation Herrick 8, 9 and 10 
			  Operation Herrick 8 Operation Herrick 9 Operation Herrick 10 
			  RN Army RAF RN Army RAF RN Army RAF 
			 Cases where coroner has given a suicide or open verdict 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 
			 Cases where mechanism of death suggests suicide but no inquest has yet taken place 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 3 0 
		
	
	These post deployment deaths have occurred any time between three months and three years from the date of return.

Afghanistan

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the UK armed forces served in Helmand in Afghanistan during (a) Operation Herrick 8, (b) Operation Herrick 9 and (c) Operation Herrick 10; and how many such people on each such operation have been (i) treated for post-traumatic stress disorder and (ii) discharged for psychological reasons since returning from Afghanistan.

Mark Francois: The number of armed forces personnel that served on Op Herrick 8, 9 and 10 were:
	
		
			  Number 
			 Op Herrick 8 6,006 
		
	
	
		
			 Op Herrick 9 6,419 
			 Op Herrick 10 7,214 
		
	
	Of these, the numbers that have been subsequently seen for an episode of care for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
			 Op Herrick 8 111 
			 Op Herrick 9 98 
			 Op Herrick 10 190 
		
	
	The number of individuals who have been identified as previously deployed on Operation Herrick 8, 9 or 10, and who were subsequently medically discharged with a principal or contributory cause of mental and behavioural disorders, is as follows:
	
		
			  Medical discharge on psychological grounds (mental and behavioural disorders) 
			  Principal cause Contributory cause 
			 Operation Navy Army RAF Navy Army RAF 
			 Herrick 8 0 18 <5 0 0 0 
			 Herrick 9 6 7 0 <5 <5 0 
			 Herrick 10 0 24 <5 0 <5 0

Aircraft Carriers

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the aviation mix is of hardware for the Queen Elizabeth Class Carrier in the littoral role.

Philip Dunne: holding answer 18 October 2012
	The Queen Elizabeth (QE) Class aircraft carrier will have the capacity to deploy up to 36 Lightning II aircraft and four helicopters. Alternatively, it can also carry a mix of helicopters, the precise mix of aircraft being dependent on the mission, enabling the QE Class to support a broad range of operations including in the littoral.

Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to introduce safeguards to prevent the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme from becoming a vehicle for lobbying.

Andrew Murrison: I am not aware that the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme has been used for lobbying. A review of the scheme, with the agreement of the Speaker, has been undertaken, the purpose of which was to ensure the scheme is structured in a transparent and accountable way with sufficient safeguards in place to mitigate against any accusations of lobbying or impropriety. Options identified by the review will be considered by stakeholders and by the House of Commons Commission.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what air-launched medium or tactical nuclear weapons the Joint Attack Fighter will be cleared to deploy.

Philip Dunne: There are no plans to equip the UK Lightning II aircraft with a nuclear capability.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which service will be responsible for the F-35B variant joint strike fighter on board the new Queen Elizabeth class carrier.

Philip Dunne: As announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review, the UK's Carrier Strike capability will be delivered jointly by the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force.

Libya: Military Intervention

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) Storm Shadow, (b) Tomahawk and (c) Brimstone missiles were expended during Operation Ellamy.

Andrew Robathan: During Operation Ellamy, UK forces employed a combined total of around 80 Storm Shadow and Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles; and around 230 Dual Mode Seeker Brimstone missiles.
	I am withholding the detailed breakdown of Storm Shadow and Tomahawk Land Attack missile numbers employed as its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

National Security

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress he has made on the implementation of the recommendations in his Department's White Paper on National Security Through Technology.

Philip Dunne: Good progress is being made in implementing the recommendations of the National Security Through Technology White Paper. This includes: sustaining the level of investment in defence science and technology at 1.2% of the Defence budget; encouraging small- and-medium sized enterprises to fulfil their potential in responding to defence requirements; embedding the new national security principles of operational advantage and freedom of action within departmental processes; and increasing support for Defence exports.

Procurement

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent progress his Department has made in improving the effectiveness of procurement of items valued under £1,000; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is making more effective use of the central contracting approach being led by the Cabinet Office, through the Government Procurement Service (GPS). This has accounted for some £220 million of MOD expenditure in the first quarter of the current financial year. The MOD uses GPS contracts and electronic catalogue systems to purchase most low value items under £1,000, including stationery, information technology consumables, printing and furniture. This procurement approach maximises savings to the MOD and reduces the need to use other purchasing routes.

Radio Frequencies

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made on his Department's consultation on the release of the 870-872 and 915-917 MHz bandwidths; and if he will make a statement on timelines.

Peter Luff: holding answer 13 July 2012
	The Ministry of Defence is currently liaising with a number of other Government Departments and Ofcom to conduct the technical and regulatory analysis required to enable the sharing of the spectrum in 870-872 and 915-917MHz. I will write to the hon. Member once the position is clearer.
	Substantive answer from Philip Dunne to Chi Onwurah:
	My predecessor undertook to write to you in his answer of 17 July 2012, Official Report, column 764W, regarding your parliamentary question about radio frequencies. The Ministry of Defence has decided to relinquish its management responsibility for the spectrum in the 870-872 and 915-917 MHz bands as there is no requirement to use it for military purposes now or in the future. The Government now needs to consider whether it still requires the spectrum for non-military use before the spectrum could be returned to Ofcom for assignment to other users. This process is now under way.

Bumi

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received on Bumi plc.

Greg Clark: holding answer 19 October 2012
	Treasury Ministers and officials meet with, and receive representations from, a wide range of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the usual policymaking process. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such representations.

Commodity Markets

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the notional value of derivatives held by the banks regulated by the Financial Services Authority is; and what information is held about the maturity and exposure of such derivatives.

Greg Clark: This information is not currently available. The shortfall in information available to regulators on derivatives during the financial crisis led the G20 in 2009 to propose that all over the counter derivative trade information should be reported to Trade Repositories. This requirement, which is expected to enter into force in the EU by. the start of 2013, will allow information on all derivatives trades to be made available to the relevant authorities.

Infrastructure

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a report on the progress of the priority infrastructure projects outlined in the National Infrastructure Plan, setting out how many projects have (a) begun construction work or (b) agreed contracts with contractors.

Danny Alexander: The Government committed in the National Infrastructure Plan 2011 to provide an annual update on the progress of the priority programmes and projects, and we will do this by the end of this year. We previously provided an update on the progress of the priority projects at the 2012 Budget.
	The Government will also provide an update on the overall infrastructure investment pipeline and on other progress since the publication of the National Infrastructure Plan 2011 including updating the infrastructure performance and cost indicators.
	Where construction work has begun on significant projects, we would expect to reflect this in the update where it is relevant. We would also expect to note significant contracts that have been agreed as part of the update where appropriate. However as the majority of UK infrastructure is privately funded contract information is not always available and commercial sensitivities will need to be considered.

Non-domestic Rates

David Morris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has any plans to extend small business rate relief beyond March 2013.

David Gauke: The permanent small business rate relief (SBRR) scheme is ongoing. This offers up to 50% rate relief to more than 500,000 small businesses. It is only the temporary doubling of this relief (the 'SBRR holiday') that is due to end in March 2013.
	The future of the temporary doubling will be considered in the Autumn Statement process. Government is committed to support business, but we would need to balance any further business rates support against the tough decisions needed to reduce the deficit.

VAT: Energy

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with the European Commission on maintaining the reduced rate of VAT applicable to energy saving materials.

David Gauke: The Government has now responded to the European Commission's reasoned opinion and intends to defend the current reduced rate of VAT on energy saving materials.

Chemicals: Health Hazards

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to reduce environmental exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals; and if he will make a statement.

David Heath: Reducing environmental exposure to potential endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) is not straightforward. Both naturally occurring and synthetic substances may have such properties. Some EDCs may have beneficial health or societal applications. These include the phytoestrogens present in foods such as soya and ethinyl-oestradiol, an active ingredient of the contraceptive pill.
	Research has indicated that ethinyl-oestradiol and natural human hormones via sewage treatment effluent can have negative, impacts on fish in UK freshwaters. In response, the Department collaborated with the Environment Agency, Ofwat, the Drinking Water Inspectorate and the water industry in the Endocrine Disruption Demonstration Programme (EDDP) from 2006 to 2010. The EDDP aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of conventional and “advanced” sewage treatment in removing these chemicals. The results demonstrated that the improved processes put in place over the last 15 years or so to meet stringent ammonia standards have reduced the risks from endocrine disrupting substances.
	DEFRA continues to address this issue with the Environment Agency and other partners, bringing together emerging science and environmental evidence to determine what further actions are needed.
	Some suspected endocrine disrupting chemicals, including several pesticides, are subject to long-standing regulations because of specific toxic effects, which may be due to endocrine disrupting activity. There is also a ban on antifouling paints based on tributyltin (TBT) compounds that were found to cause significant endocrine disrupting effects in some marine organisms.
	There are longstanding provisions under EU legislation to subject potentially dangerous chemicals, including endocrine disrupters, to a risk assessment. Where risks are identified, European-wide measures can then be taken to control them. For example, this has been done with the chemical nonylphenol and the flame retardants octa- and penta- BDE (bromodiphenyl ether).
	EDCs can also be subject to the authorisation procedures under the EU Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation, which aims to substitute hazardous chemicals unless there are good socio-economic reasons to justify their continued use. EDCs are also controlled by EU legislation on plant protection and biocidol products. DEFRA is actively collaborating with other Government Departments and agencies in the development of EU regulatory criteria for EDCs. We are also working in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to produce new scientifically-based test methods for the identification of these substances.

Phytophthora Ramorum

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect on the native British larch of Phytophthora ramorum;
	(2)  what plans he has to introduce an import ban on young larch trees from countries where Phytophthora ramorum is active in the native woodlands;
	(3)  what plans his Department has to bring under control the damage to the British larch caused by Phytophthora ramorum.

David Heath: “Phytophthora ramorum” has been found in European larch (“Larix decidua”) and hybrid larch (“Larix x eurolepis”). Japanese larch is much more widespread in commercial plantings and hence has been the species in which most infection is found.
	Under the five-year, DEFRA-funded, Phytophthora Disease Management Programme led by the Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera), which started in April 2009, large areas of Japanese larch and other larch species have been felled. An external review of the programme has recently commenced, to provide recommendations on future policy for control of “Phytophthora ramorum” and “P. kernoviae”.
	The objective of felling these trees is to reduce levels of inoculum and thus to try to minimise any further spread of “P. ramorum” and the damage it causes.
	The Forestry Commission and the Food and Environment Research Agency carry out research into this pathogen under the programme, to increase understanding of the epidemiology and how to restrict further spread. This will enable us to pass on advice and guidance to growers on its management and means of preventing or limiting its impact and spread.
	“Phytophthora ramorum” infection in larch trees has only been found in the United Kingdom and in Ireland. There are restrictions on imports of host plants from other EU countries and countries outside the EU; should infected larch be found in third countries it would be proposed for addition to the list of host plants under The Plant Health (Phytophthora ramorum) (England) Order 2004.

Plastic Bags

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress he made on reducing plastic bag usage via retailers in the latest period for which figures are available.

Richard Benyon: Eight billion single use carrier bags were issued by supermarket retailers in 2011, compared to 7.5 billion in 2010. This represents a 5.4% increase.
	However, there has been an overall reduction of 35% in their distribution by supermarket retailers since the baseline year of 2006.

Shrimps

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the extent to which the invasive shrimp, Dikerogammarus haemobaphes, has become established in UK waterways;
	(2)  what research his Department commissioned on the effect on UK waterways of the invasive shrimp, Dikerogammarus haemobaphes; and what information it holds about such research being conducted by other bodies.

Richard Benyon: On 26 September, the invasive shrimp “Dikerogammarus haemobaphes” was confirmed as having been found in samples collected from the River Severn at Bevere (near Worcester) and Tewkesbury. The Environment Agency has initiated a sampling programme to assess the distribution of this species within the Midlands region. Populations have now also been confirmed in the Worcester and Birmingham canal and the Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal. DEFRA immediately commissioned a risk assessment for “Dikerogammarus haemobaphes”to assess the potential impact of this species in Great Britain. The results are expected imminently.

Housing: Construction

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many dwellings with approved planning applications remain to be developed.

Nicholas Boles: The number of dwellings in England with planning permission where development has yet to start is estimated as around 225,800 units as at 30 June 2012. This figure excludes most small schemes with fewer than 10 units.
	The source of the data is Glenigan:
	http://www.glenigan.com/
	a private company which supplies the Homes and Communities Agency with information on the status of planning applications for internal use. More detailed information is available commercially from Glenigan.
	We are undertaking a series of initiatives to help kick start development on stalled sites, including the £570 million Get Britain Building fund and our reforms to unlock economically unrealistic Section 106 agreements.
	These are part of our broader policies to support house building as outlined in the written ministerial statement of 6 September 2012, Official Report, columns 29-34WS, and November 2011’s Housing Strategy.

Local Government

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what information his Department holds on the proportion of local government procurement that is sourced from local businesses;
	(2)  what information his Department holds on the proportion of local government procurement of food that is supplied by local businesses.

Brandon Lewis: The Department does not hold this information centrally.
	Procurement in local government is a matter for local discretion but the Government is committed to encouraging a more open and level playing field for small and medium enterprises and has taken steps to improve opportunities for them.
	The Code of Recommended Practice for Local Authorities on Data Transparency encourages local authorities to publish copies of contracts, tenders and expenditure over £500 (including costs, supplier and transaction information). By increasing transparency in local authority spending, citizens and others are now much better placed to hold their local authorities to account in this regard, including on the proportion of contracts being awarded to small firms in their area.

Local Government Finance

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will request the London borough of Barnet to comply with their external auditor's recommendations and produce a stakeholder engagement plan for their transformation programme.

Brandon Lewis: How the London borough of Barnet responds to any recommendations from their auditor is a local matter. An auditor has powers to act when he has serious concerns about a council's actions, including qualifying the council's accounts, issuing a public interest report which the full council would be required to consider, and even, in the case of unlawful actions, seeking a judicial review.

Local Government Finance

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what communication he or officials in his Department have had with the London borough of Barnet regarding the procurement practices of that authority.

Brandon Lewis: There have been no recent communications between the Secretary of State and Barnet council regarding their procurement practices.
	The Department does not routinely collect information on communications between officials and individual local authorities.
	As a matter of public record, in a speech in 2011, the Secretary of State made a reference to procurement practices in that local authority. The speech is online at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/speeches/corporate/charteredfinanceannualconf2011

Local Government Finance

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether it is his policy that outsourcing of regulatory services by local authorities should be subject to consultation.

Brandon Lewis: This Government believes that local authorities are best placed to decide how they fulfil their statutory functions. As locally accountable bodies, they have strong incentives to consult local people, and are under some specific duties to do so. The duty of best value, introduced by section 3 of the Local Government Act 1999, requires authorities to:
	“make arrangements to secure continuous improvement in the way in which its functions are exercised, having regard to a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness”.
	The legislation further requires that they consult local people on how they should fulfil this duty.

Non-domestic Rates

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the economic effect of the business rates transitional arrangements on areas where rents and rates are falling.

Brandon Lewis: A full Impact Assessment for the 2010 business rates transitional arrangement scheme was published by the Department in November 2009. Information on individual business rate bills is not held centrally.

Non-domestic Rates

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will estimate the number of shops that have shut down following the increase in business rates in April 2012.

Brandon Lewis: No such figure has been estimated. Business rates are tied to RPI inflation; this means there has been no real terms increase in bills.
	I would observe that the coalition Government has taken a series of steps to help with business rates. We have:
	Doubled small business rate relief scheme, to help half a million small firms. For two and a half years from October 2010, small firms are receiving 100% rate relief (i.e. pay no business rates at all) on properties up to £6,000 rateable value, and a tapered rate relief from £6,000 to £12,000. An estimated 330,000 small firms are paying no rates at all as a result.
	Introduced a deferral scheme to allow businesses to deter payment of 60% of the RPI increase in their 2012-13 rates bills, over three years: providing practical support and helping cash flow at a time of (then) higher inflation.
	Scrapped Labour's ports tax—stopping retrospective business rates on firms in ports that threatened the whole export and manufacturing sector. £175 million of unfair rate demands have been cleared.
	Made it easier for small firms to get small business rate relief to which they are entitled. Our changes in the Localism Act allow all eligible ratepayers automatically to receive the small business multiplier, and we have removed the legal red tape requiring ratepayers to fill in paperwork to claim the relief.
	Given local councils new powers via the Localism Act to levy local business rate discounts, for example, to support local shops, community pubs, new business parks or vital local facilities.
	Introduced 24 new Enterprise Zones across the country, which offer a 100% business rate discount worth up to approximately £275,000 over a five year period.
	The Local Government Finance Bill will introduce the local retention of business rates, giving councils new incentives to support local firms and local shops. The Government's response to the Mary Portas Review also outlines a series of initiatives being undertaken to support local high streets.

Regional Growth Fund

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff in his Department work on delivering the Regional Growth Fund.

Mark Prisk: There are 17 full-time equivalent staff in the Department for Communities and Local Government allocated to monitoring Regional Growth Fund projects on the ground. They are supported by DCLG finance and growth policy teams.
	DCLG works closely and effectively with the fund secretariat in the Department of Business Innovation and Skills who administer Regional Growth Fund and include accountants, economists, policy and communications specialists and administrative staff.

Crimes of Violence

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Attorney-General what recent discussions he has had with the (a) Director of Public Prosecutions and (b) Secretary of State for the Home Department on prosecutions of violence against women and girls.

Oliver Heald: In May 2012, the Attorney-General discussed violence against women and girls (VAWG) prosecutions with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), noting the improvement in CPS VAWG prosecutions, the continuation of specialist prosecutors, and the commitment to continue with this progress.
	I also attend the Inter Ministerial Group on VAWG, which is chaired by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May). This group monitors and discusses progress against the VAWG action plan, which includes actions on the prosecutions of VAWG.

Cybercrime

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Attorney-General what recent discussions he has had with the Director of Public Prosecutions on the prosecution of crimes committed online.

Dominic Grieve: The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has advised me at a recent routine business meeting of the work he is doing in respect of prosecuting offences committed in the context of online social media. The DPP has held a number of roundtable meetings with interested parties to discuss prosecution policy in this area. The discussions will be used to inform the preparation of interim guidelines for prosecutors on social media cases. The guidelines will be used to assist prosecutors when deciding whether criminal charges should be brought. There will be a public consultation before the final guidelines are published. Certain offences, for example the publication of the name of a victim of a sexual offence, require my consent to prosecution, this therefore allows me to consider how such crimes are being prosecuted.

Offences against Children

Amber Rudd: To ask the Attorney-General how many prosecutions there have been for under-age sex in the last five years.

Dominic Grieve: Records held by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) identify the number of offences in which a prosecution commenced and reached a first hearing in magistrates courts, rather than the number of defendants prosecuted. Offences relating to "under-age" sex are taken to include Section 9 Sexual Offences Act 2003 (sexual activity with a child under 16 years of age), Section 16 Sexual Offences Act 2003 (sexual activity with a child under 18 years of age where there has been an abuse of trust) and Section 25 Sexual Offences Act 2003 (sexual activity with a child under 18 years of age when the perpetrator is a family member) but are exclusive of non consensual sexual offences including rape.
	During the last five years the number of these offences was as follows:
	
		
			  2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 S9 SOA 2003 2,344 2,709 2,942 3,388 3,076 
			 S16 SOA 2003 86 70 73 95 77 
			 S25 SOA 2003 564 615 688 830 624

Antisocial Behaviour

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what mechanisms she plans to put in place to judge the success or failure of community triggers in tackling antisocial behaviour.

Jeremy Browne: We are working with a number of leading local areas, including Manchester, Brighton and Hove, Richmond and West Lindsey and Boston, to test the community trigger on the ground before we introduce legislation.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders: Merseyside

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many anti-social behaviour orders have been (a) applied for and (b) made in Merseyside in each of the last 10 years.

Jeremy Browne: The number of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) applied for, and the number issued, at all courts in the Merseyside Criminal Justice System (CJS) area in each year between 2001 and 2010 (the latest year for which data is currently available) can be viewed in the table. Data for 2011 is due to be published on 18 October 2012.
	
		
			 Antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued at all courts in the Merseyside Criminal Justice System (CJS) area as reported to the Ministry of Justice (1)  by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2010 
			 ASBOs 
			 Merseyside Criminal Justice System area 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 Applied for(2) 7 22 41 41 66 44 52 90 90 97 
			 Of which:           
			 Made(3) 7 22 40 41 64 44 52 90 88 97 
			 Refused 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Issued on conviction(4) n/a 0 4 55 64 50 35 27 26 46 
			 Total ASBOs issued 7 22 44 96 128 94 87 117 114 143 
			 n/a = Not applicable—see footnote 4. (1) Prior to the creation of the Ministry of Justice on 9 May 2007, numbers of ASBOs issued were reported to Home Office by the Court Service. (2) ASBOs can be issued by courts following an application by a relevant body, these include the police, local authorities and registered social landlords. (3) Includes ASBOs issued on application by magistrates courts acting in their civil capacity and county courts, which were introduced under section 1 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and became available on 1 April 1999. (4) ASBOs made following conviction for a relevant criminal offence at the Crown court and at magistrates courts (acting in their criminal capacity), which were introduced under the Police Reform Act 2002 and became available on 2 December 2002. Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Asylum: Deportation

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed asylum seekers have been deported to (a) Iran and (b) Iraq in each of the last 24 months.

Mark Harper: For the purposes of answering this question it has been assumed that the question refers to the number of enforced removals and voluntary departures from the UK.
	Most illegal immigrants are removed under administrative or illegal entry powers from the UK rather than being deported. Deportations are a specific subset of removals which are enforced either following a criminal conviction or when it is judged that a person's removal from the UK is conducive to the public good.
	The following table shows the total number of asylum cases removed or voluntarily departed to Iran and Iraq from the UK in each of the last 18 months and is a subset of Home Office published statistics.
	It is not possible within these figures to say at what stage in the asylum process individuals have reached at the time of their removal, including whether their claim has failed at that point, as those departing voluntarily can do so at any stage without necessarily notifying the UK Border Agency.
	
		
			 Monthly removals and voluntary departures of asylum cases (1)  to Iran and Iraq (2) , January 2011 to June 2012 (3) 
			 Number 
			  Asylum enforced removals to Iran Asylum voluntary departures to Iran Asylum enforced removals to Iraq Asylum voluntary departures to Iraq 
			 2011     
			 January 2 10 3 16 
			 February 8 10 8 42 
			 March 7 7 17 43 
		
	
	
		
			 April 7 5 10 2 
			 May 3 5 1 7 
			 June 5 5 12 28 
			 July 4 6 2 14 
			 August 0 8 2 28 
			 September 8 9 5 28 
			 October 0 14 2 29 
			 November 5 5 3 19 
			 December 4 2 1 17 
			      
			 2012     
			 January 2 2 0 26 
			 February 1 1 0 38 
			 March 3 4 2 34 
			 April 1 8 1 35 
			 May 1 7 3 33 
			 June 1 7 3 23 
			 (1) Removals and voluntary departures recorded on the system as at the dates on which the data extracts were taken. (2) Destination as recorded on source database. (3) Provisional figures. Figures will under record due to data cleansing and data matching exercises that take place after the extracts are taken 
		
	
	The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics on the number of persons removed or departed voluntarily from the UK within 'Immigration Statistics'. The data on removals and voluntary departures by destination are available in the latest release, Immigration Statistics: April to June 2012, tables rv.06 and rv.06.q, from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Science, research and statistics web pages at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/science-research/research-statistics/migration/migration-statistics1/

Borders: Personal Records

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects the e-Borders programme to cover all international travellers using all UK ports; if she will publish a business plan; and if she will make a statement.

Mark Harper: The e-Borders programme is an operational system and each day helps to protect the UK against terrorist attack, serious crime and abuses of the immigration system.
	The UK Border Agency reached the milestone of 100% information on routes from outside the EU in April 2012 and receives a substantial amount of information on EU routes. This is achieved through discussions with other governments and the carriers themselves.
	The Home Office business plan was issued in May 2012 and can be found at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/about-us/corporate-publications/business-plan/business-plan-2012-15/

Burglary: Self-defence

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many homeowners have been charged after defending their property against burglars in each year since 1994; and in respect of what offences such charges were brought in each year;
	(2)  how many homeowners were arrested when defending their property against burglars in each year since 1994; and for what offences such arrests were made in each year.

Jeremy Browne: The information requested on arrests is not collected centrally.
	The arrests collection held by the Home Office relates to notifiable offences, aggregated to offence group level only, for example violence against the person and burglary. Information on the individual circumstances of arrests are not reported to the Home Office.
	It is not possible to match the arrests data to any subsequent outcomes.

Domestic Violence: Greater London

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to reduce levels of domestic violence in (a) North West London and (b) Greater London.

Jeremy Browne: The Government's Call to End Violence Against Women and Girls Action Plan sets out our steps to tackle all forms of violence against women, including measures to reduce domestic violence, such as establishing domestic homicide reviews on a statutory basis and ring-fencing funding of nearly £40 million until 2015 to provide specialist domestic and sexual violence services. This includes funding independent domestic violence advisers and multi-agency risk assessment conference coordinator posts across London.

Entry Clearances

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Tier 2 (General) work visas were issued for occupations in (a) accommodation and food service activities and (b) human health and social work activities in the year ended in June (i) 2011 and (ii) 2012.

Mark Harper: The information available, from different IT systems, relates to total grants of Tier 2 (General) visas, and to the number of certificates of sponsorship used as part of visa applications.
	There were a total of 7,746 Tier 2 (General) visas granted (for all industry sectors) in the year ending June 2011; and the corresponding figure for the year ending June 2012 was 8,927.
	There were 1,718 certificates of sponsorship for the industry sector ‘Accommodation and Food Service Activities’ used in Tier 2 visa applications in the year ending June 2011; and the corresponding figure for the year ending June 2012 was 438.
	There were 1,957 certificates of sponsorship for the industry sector ‘Human Health and Social Work Activities’ used in Tier 2 visa applications in the year ending June 2011; and the corresponding figure for the year ending June 2012 was 1,635.
	Data relating to grants of visas by Tier, and relating to certificates of sponsorship used in visa applications are published in tables ‘be.04q’ and ‘cs.02q’ respectively of the quarterly Home Office statistical release ‘Immigration Statistics’, available from the Home Office's Science, Research and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/science-research/research-statistics/migration/migration-statistics1/

Firearms: Hampshire

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many firearm and shotgun certificate holders in the Hampshire police force area have not been able to renew such certificates before their expiry date in (a) 2011 and (b) 2012.

Damian Green: Figures from the National Firearms Licensing Management System shows that, in 2011 in Hampshire, 1,041 persons held firearm certificates and 4,803 persons held shot gun certificates that were renewed after the expiry date.
	In 2012 (up to 15 October), there were 289 persons who held firearm certificates and 2,145 persons who held shot gun certificates that were renewed after the expiry date.

Immigration

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many non-UK EU nationals have entered the UK to seek employment with dependents who are (a) EU nationals, (b) UK nationals and (c) non-EU nationals in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated October 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many non-UK EU nationals have entered the UK to seek employment with dependants who are a) EU Nationals, b) UK nationals and c) non-EU nationals in each of the last five years (123460).
	The Office for National Statistics produces estimates of Long Term International Migration (LTIM), primarily based on the International Passenger Survey (IPS). The IPS is a continuous voluntary sample survey conducted by the Office for National Statistics.
	The IPS does not collect any specific information on dependants of migrants from respondents.

Police: Powers

Mark Reckless: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to release the results of her Department's consultation on police powers to promote and maintain public order.

Damian Green: The Government is carefully considering the responses to the consultation ‘Police Powers to Promote and Maintain Public Order’. The Government will publish its response to the consultation in due course.

Sexual Offences

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the provisions of sections 104 to 113 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 in protecting members of the public from serious sexual harm; and if she will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: Sexual offences prevention orders (SOPOs) provide a valuable tool to the police to protect the public from various sexual harm by restricting offenders' behaviours and movements. The Government continually works with the police and other agencies to review the effectiveness of SOPOs.

Smuggling

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many compensatory payments were made to individuals who had their excise goods and vehicles seized by UKBA and who successfully appealed against the seizure in each of the last five years; what the total value of such payments was in each of the last five years; and what the 10 highest compensatory payments made in each of those years were.

Mark Harper: The UK Border Agency legal team was formed in December 2009, and as such does not hold any data prior to this date. The UK Border Agency is able to provide the following data:
	
		
			  Condemnation orders refused 
			 April 2010 to March 2011 22 
			 April 2011 to March 2012 25.5 
			 April 2012 to September 2012 9.5 
		
	
	Data on the value of payments are not held in the format requested, and would incur disproportionate costs to collate. The National Post Seizure Unit (NPSU) do not hold the data centrally in the format requested. To collate this information would necessitate electronic and physical examination of over 400 case files.
	An FOI response was provided to my hon. Friend dated 19 April 2012 to that effect.

Care to Learn Scheme

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he plans to make any changes to Care to Learn funding arrangements in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15.

David Laws: holding answer 17 October 2012
	The Government is committed to providing child care support to teenage parents so they can take part in education or training. There are no plans to make changes to the Care to Learn funding arrangements in the financial years 2013-14 and 2014-15.

Crossrail Line

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on the establishment of a Crossrail link between Stansted and Heathrow airports.

Stephen Hammond: The Government remains committed to the delivery of the current Crossrail project which will provide fast and frequent Crossrail services from Maidenhead and Heathrow airport in the west through central London and beyond to Abbey Wood and Shenfield in the east.
	The Government do not currently have any plans to introduce direct rail links between Stansted and Heathrow airports.

Cycling: Helmets

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to encourage children to wear a helmet when riding a bicycle.

Stephen Hammond: We recommend all cyclists—especially children—wear helmets to protect them if they have a collision. The Highway Code, under rule 59, also recommends the wearing of helmets for cyclists of all ages. However, we believe people and parents should be free to choose whether to follow this advice and we have no plans to legislate to introduce mandatory enforcement of cycle helmet wearing.
	The Think! campaigns for children include advice on the use of cycle helmets, as part of wider campaigns. These include ‘Tales of the Road’ for children aged six to 11:
	http://talesoftheroad.direct.gov.uk/cycling-safety.php
	Cycle safety advice for parents of children aged five to seven:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/think/education/early-years-and-primary/parents/5-to-7s/cycle-safety/
	Cycle safety advice for parents of children aged seven to 11:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/think/education/early-years-and-primary/parents/7-to-11s/cycle-safety/
	Cycle safety advice for parents of children aged 12+:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/think/education/secondary/parents/cycle-safety/
	We have also recently launched a THINK CYCLIST campaign which offers advice to drivers and cyclists on how to stay safe on the road. One of the messages to cyclists is to wear a correctly fitted cycle helmet, which is securely fastened and conforms to current regulations:
	http://think.direct.gov.uk/cycling.html

Electric Vehicles

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of persons who were (a) killed, (b) seriously injured and (c) slightly injured by plug-in electric and hybrid electric vehicles when operating in electric mode in each of the last two years; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: The number of casualties in reported personal injury road accidents known to involve electric and hybrid electric vehicles for the years 2010 and 2011 were as follows:
	Electric vehicles
	Two deaths, 10 serious injuries, and 59 slight injuries in 2010; and one death, 10 serious injuries and 56 slight injuries in 2011.
	Hybrid electric vehicles
	10 deaths, 72 serious injuries and 576 slight injuries in 2010; and five deaths, 61 serious injuries and 761 slight injuries in 2011.
	In both years the number of casualties known to involve electric or hybrid electric vehicles accounted for less than 0.5% of the total number of casualties in reported road accidents in Britain.
	The Department refers to DVLA records to determine whether a vehicle involved in an accident has electric or hybrid electric propulsion. This is only possible for British-registered vehicles where a full and accurate vehicle registration mark (VRM) is contained in the police record. This information exists for around three-quarters of vehicles involved in personal injury accidents. There may therefore have been additional accidents involving electric or hybrid electric vehicles that are registered outside Britain, or where the reported VRM was invalid or missing.
	The Department does not hold information on whether a vehicle was operating in electric mode at the time of the accident, nor whether the vehicle is of the ‘plug-in’ type.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of the cost of High Speed 2 will be funded by (a) public and (b) private sources.

Simon Burns: The Government is proceeding with HS2 on the basis that the costs of the project will be met in large part from the public purse. While my Department has made clear that we will explore opportunities for third party funding and financing as the project develops, we are not at a stage in the process where we can say what proportion of project costs might be met this way.

Rescue Services: Helicopters

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he has taken in the invitation to tender for the search and rescue contract to prioritise manufacture of the helicopters in the UK.

Stephen Hammond: While complying with EU procurement law, the Department has asked bidders, through its tender documentation, to demonstrate the whole-life cost approach to minimising the environmental impacts of designing, manufacturing/constructing, operating and maintaining helicopters. Their response to this area will be considered as part of the evaluation process.
	Bidders have also been informed of the Government's intention to enhance the ability of SME's to access government contracts. Bidders, through the tender process, should demonstrate how they intend to support this policy with an explanation of how opportunities and training (which may include apprenticeships or equivalent) for long-term job seekers will be developed and implemented.
	Tender documentation has been published on the Department's website and is available for public access.

West Coast Railway Line: Franchises

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to issue an addendum to the Great Western franchise invitation to tender document following representations made by the West of England Partnership.

Simon Burns: The Government is aware of the West of England Partnership's views. However, we are unable to comment on the detail of the ITT pending the outcome of the independent review of the rail franchising programme by Richard Brown CBE. The review was announced by the Secretary of State on 3 October 2012 and is expected to report back at the end of December.

West Coast Railway Line: Franchises

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect that the recent problems with the franchise of the West Coast Mainline will have on the granting of new rail franchises in the West Country.

Simon Burns: I refer my hon. Friend to the statement made by the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), on 15 October 2012, Official Report , columns 46-47 and the terms of reference for the Brown Review which has been laid in the Library of the House and which will provide the basis upon which the Secretary of State assesses the future requirements for franchises across England and Wales.

West Coast Railway Line: Franchises

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the expected cost of the independent review into the error by Laidlaw and Smith; and what (a) Laidlaw and Smith and (b) PwC will be paid.

Simon Burns: The Department has not prescribed a budget or forecast costs for the Laidlaw inquiry. Sam Laidlaw will have access to the resources necessary to conclude his inquiry.
	Once the inquiry has concluded, the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), will make public the costs incurred.
	Sam Laidlaw and Ed Smith are both non-executive directors of the Department. They are not receiving any additional reimbursement other than that which is already made public in the Department's Accounts.
	PwC are not working on the Laidlaw inquiry.

West Coast Railway Line: Franchises

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what checks were carried out by (a) officials involved in the Inter-City West Coast (ICWC) franchising competition, (b) consultants advising officials and Ministers in his Department in respect of the franchising competition, (c) senior officials supervising the ICWC franchising team, (d) board members supervising the ICWC franchising competition and (e) Ministers in his Department to ensure that all was proceeding according to plan with the franchise competition; and at what stage.

Simon Burns: This information is not currently available in the form requested. In order to look into the checks and processes surrounding the InterCity West Coast franchise competition, the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), has set up the Laidlaw inquiry. The terms of reference for the inquiry have been laid in the Library of the House. It will provide its initial findings to the Secretary of State by 26 October and its final report will be published no later than the end of November.

Carbon Trust: Grants

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much the Carbon Trust has paid out in grants to businesses in each financial year from 2005-06 to date; how many businesses received such grants in each such year; and what estimate he has made of the likely level of such grants in each financial year to 2015-16.

Gregory Barker: The Carbon Trust advise that between 1 April 2005 and 31 March 2012 the value of grants made by it to businesses was as set out in the following table. These grants were delivered through funding provided by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), Invest Northern Ireland, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Department of Transport.
	
		
			  Total value of grants  (£) Number of grant recipients 
			 2005-06 2,918,504 60 
			 2006-07 3,032,539 53 
			 2007-08 3,105,368 47 
			 2008-09 3,842,793 39 
			 2009-10 12,901,238 54 
			 2010-11 23,574,809 75 
			 2011-12 12,556,708 40 
		
	
	Where known, the forecast levels of grant funding between 1 April 2012 and 31 March 2015 would be provided by the following Departments:
	DECC for 2012-15;
	Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Invest Northern Ireland for 2012-13.
	These are shown in the following table. It should be noted that DECC no longer provides core grant funding to Carbon Trust and its support now relates to long-term research projects.
	
		
			  Total value of grants  (£) 
			 2012-13 7,383,399 
			 2013-14 5,500,000 
			 2014-15 5,500,000 
			 2015-16 0

Coal

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what role he sees for coal in meeting the UK's future energy requirements.

John Hayes: The role of coal is set to decline over the coming decade as stations close in order to comply with the requirements of European Union air quality directives that place limits on emissions of oxides of sulphur and nitrogen.
	8 gigawatts (GW) of coal capacity has opted-out of the large combustion plant directive (LCPD), 5 GW of which has notified its closure by the end of March 2013, with the remainder required to close by the end of 2015 at the latest,
	The industrial emissions directive (IED) replaces the LCPD and sets more stringent limits from 2016.
	It is uncertain what proportion of the remaining coal capacity will make the investment needed to meet the IED limits, or otherwise be required to close by 2023 at the latest.
	In the longer term, coal with carbon capture and storage (CCS) could play an important role as part of a low carbon energy mix. The Carbon Plan, published by DECC in December 2011, identified a significant contribution for fossil fuels with CCS by 2030, depending on its ability to compete with other low carbon technologies and if costs are reduced quickly as a result of Government and industry actions.

Freedom of Information Act 2000: Email

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office for what reasons the Cabinet Office guidance on the scope of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in relation to private emails was delayed.

Nick Hurd: Guidance will be published shortly.

Betting Shops

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many betting shops there were in the UK in (a) 2009, (b) 2010 and (c) 2011; what discussions the Government has had with the betting industry about the clustering of betting shops; and whether she plans to announce any changes to the Gambling Act 2005.

Hugh Robertson: The Gambling Commission's Industry Statistics April 2008 to September 2011 show there were 8,862 betting premises in Great Britain in 2008-09, approximately 8,822 in 2009-10 and 9,067 in 2010-11. The Government regularly engages with representatives from the betting industry across a range of issues and this includes concerns from some areas about the impact of betting shops on local communities.
	The Government currently has no plans to amend the Gambling Act 2005 in relation to non-remote gambling, but has recently announced that we will review the evidence around category B2 gaming machines and problem gambling.

Gambling

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if she will consider adopting the recommendations by the Campaign for Fairer Gambling to (a) reduce the number of fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) from four per shop to one, (b) reduce the maximum stake on FOBTs from £100 to £2, (c) to remove table game content from FOBTs and (d) reduce the spin frequency of FOBTs.

Hugh Robertson: The Government has announced that it will undertake a review of the evidence around fixed odds betting terminals—classed as category B2 gaming machines under the Gambling Act 2005—and problem gambling. An announcement about the scope and timing of the review will be made in due course.

Music: Pilot Schemes

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how many pilot music rehearsal spaces will continue to provide a space for young people to play music after the pilot project has ended;
	(2)  what steps her Department has taken to assess the effect of its pilot music rehearsal spaces.

Edward Vaizey: UK Music, the umbrella organisation representing the collective interests of Britain's commercial music industry, now has responsibility for the pilot music rehearsal spaces. A report into the spaces has been commissioned by Sound Connections and will be published in November 2012. This report is a retrospective survey looking back over the project from 2009. It will cover, where data are available, aspects including usage, reach and impact. Sound Connections is an independent organisation focused on helping the delivery of high quality music-making and is responsible for managing the rehearsal space contracts with local authorities. UK Music is currently developing a strategy for the future of the spaces with the help of the UK Music Board, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Music and Rock.

Music: Pilot Schemes

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what steps she is taking to support grass-roots music development;
	(2)  what steps she is taking to support grass-roots music development for young people in areas of (a) urban and (b) rural deprivation;
	(3)  what steps she is taking to improve access for young people to publicly-funded music facilities.

Edward Vaizey: Through the Department for Education funding administered by the Arts Council (more than £171 million of funding between August 2012 and March 2015), a network of 122 music education hubs are taking forward the work of local authority music services, helping improve the quality and consistency of music education across England, both in and out of school. Also, in partnership with the Department for Education, the Arts Council has funded the 'In Harmony' programme which uses music to bring positive change to the lives of children in disadvantaged areas of England, delivering benefits across the wider community.
	The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) provides funding for the arts in England, supporting the sector to maximise its impact on people's lives, often in partnership with arm's length bodies and many other public, private and voluntary organisations. DCMS funding is distributed through Arts Council England, the development agency for the arts in England which makes all funding decisions at 'arm's length' from Government. The Arts Council funds organisations and initiatives to deliver artistic and audience development, and increase participation. Some of the initiatives that the Arts Council delivers in support of grass-roots music development are as follows:
	Youth Music (a Delegated Lottery Distributor of the Arts Council) has a specific focus on supporting young people's music making, particularly for those with least opportunity. Funding priorities include helping disadvantaged children and young people, encouraging talent and potential, improving music leadership and music for under-5s.
	Through its National Portfolio, the Arts Council funds organisations such as 'Urban Development' and 'Bigga Fish' which focus on offering developmental opportunities for emerging talent, including children and young people as well as young adults. In addition, across the range of music organisations funded by the Arts Council—from orchestras and opera companies to rock and pop organisations—many offer musical opportunities for children and young people.

Tourism: North West

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment her Department has made of the (a) number of tourists and (b) revenue from tourism in the North West in each of the last three years.

Hugh Robertson: This information is not recorded by the Department. Data relating to inbound tourism to the North West is recorded via the Office for National Statistics International Passenger Survey (IPS), and domestic tourism data is recorded by VisitEngland.
	IPS data
	
		
			  Inbound staying visits (Thousand) Inbound spend (£ million) 
			 2011 2,380 956 
			 2010 2,165 1,021 
			 2009 2,110 801 
		
	
	VisitEngland data
	Domestic tourism day visits were measured in 2011 for the first time since 2005, and therefore this data is not available for 2009 and 2010.
	
		
			  Domestic overnight trips (Thousand) Domestic overnight nights (Thousand) Domestic overnight spend (£ million) Domestic tourism day visits (Thousand) Domestic tourism day trips spend (£ million) 
			 2011 13,987 37,067 1,603 173 5,828 
			 2010 12,249 33,689 1,376 n/a n/a 
			 2009 13,474 37,128 1,426 n/a n/a

Bribery Act 2010

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he has received any recent representations from FTSE companies regarding possible changes to the guidance to the Bribery Act 2010.

Damian Green: The guidance was drafted in March 2011 following a thorough consultation exercise by the Ministry of Justice with several interested parties including the business community. The guidance reflects their views and any concerns that were raised. There nave been no subsequent representations from FTSE companies regarding changes to the guidance to the Bribery Act 2010. There are no plans to amend the guidance or the Act.
	The Government is committed to the Bribery Act and is confident that both the Act and its guidance represent a robust and proportionate response to bribery both in the UK and overseas.

Bangladesh

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what outcomes she expects from her Technical Assistance to Support Improved Aid Effectiveness in Bangladesh programme; and how the project is being implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: The objective of this programme is for Bangladesh to achieve better development results through improved management and increased accountability for the allocation and delivery of foreign assistance by the Government of Bangladesh. The expected outcomes are:
	harmonising donor/Government practices to reduce fragmentation, inefficiencies and transaction costs;
	more efficient use of resources for implementing national priorities, with increased impact by streamlining and speeding up project planning and approval;
	well-functioning systems for results and performance accountability.
	The project is run by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/Government of Bangladesh and is funded by UNDP, UK, Australia and Denmark with some staff resources and offices provided by the Government of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what outcomes she expects from her Crown Agents Procurement Core Country Agreement; and how the project is being implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: Through the Core Country Agreement, Crown Agents, on behalf of DFID, carries out procurement of a diverse range of goods and equipment for our development programme in Bangladesh, using rigorous competitive processes which follow best international practice and deliver excellent value for money. The Crown Agents were awarded the contract following an international competition using the EU procurement directives process. The current contract is due to end in March 2013.

Bangladesh

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the outcomes were of her Transparency International Bangladesh project; and how the project was implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: Between 2003 and 2008, the project supported Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) to generate evidence to inform a public debate on corruption in Bangladesh, and increase transparency and accountability in the public, non-profit and private sectors.
	TIB is a strong civil society organisation that consistently challenges the Government on issues of corruption and lack of accountability. TIB is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) registered in Bangladesh and is the Bangladesh chapter of NGO Transparency International.
	TIB has campaigned for the promotion and development of institutions, laws and practices to combat corruption. A public information campaign made headline news of corruption issues and made more people aware of their rights and responsibilities, and how to raise their voice against poor services and lack of accountability. At the local level, TIB supported committees of concerned citizens in 34 of the 64 districts in Bangladesh. The committees stopped payment of unauthorised fees; increased the distribution of school books; improved attendance of teachers in schools; and improved the distribution of safety net payments.

Bangladesh

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the outcomes were of her Humanitarian Assistance for Bangladesh Programme; and how the project was implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: The UK's Humanitarian Assistance for Bangladesh Programme (2008-11) provided emergency relief to families affected by Cyclone Aila. Over 50,200 households received shelter support, 14,000 families had more access to food, and 4,000 families could access safer drinking water: The programme was implemented by the International Organisation for Migration, the United Nations Development Programme, UNICEF and the World Food Programme. Access to the most remote areas was facilitated with core support to the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF).

Bangladesh

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the outcomes were of her Bangladesh Sanglap II project; and how the project was implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: Bangladesh Sanglap II project provided opportunities for Bangladeshi people to interact with and ask questions to policy and decision-makers on key governance issues, through TV and radio programmes that reached 25.06 million viewers and listeners, well exceeding its target of three million. The project provided one of the first opportunities for Bangladeshi citizens to ask questions of elected officials on television or radio.
	The project was implemented by the BBC World Service Trust between September 2006 and October 2010.

Bangladesh

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the outcomes were of her Department's Maternal, Neonatal and Child Survival Project with Science and Research Advisory Committee; and how the project was implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: During its project period (January 2009 to June 2012) the Maternal, Neonatal and Child Survival Project assisted 145,000 poor rural women with skilled attendants during delivery. Additionally 390,000 new-borns were breastfed within one hour of birth.
	The project was implemented by BRAC (previously known as Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee) and the United Nations Children's Fund with support from the Department for International Development, Australian Aid and the Royal Norwegian Embassy.

Bangladesh

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of (a) the outcomes of the United Nations Development Programme Early Recovery Action Plan and (b) how the project was implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Early Recovery Action Plan was supported by the UK from 2008-09, helping communities to recover after Cyclone Sidr. UK support helped rebuild over 13,000 houses for some of the hardest hit families. The programme was implemented by UNDP in close coordination with the Bangladesh Ministry of Food and Disaster Management.

Bangladesh

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what outcomes she expects from her Shelter, Sanitation and Resilience, Bangladesh Programme; and how the project is being implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: By early 2013, the Shelter, Sanitation Recovery and Resilience programme will have helped over 11,000 families in Satkhira district of Bangladesh to replace homes and sanitation facilities destroyed by persistent waterlogging. The new shelters and latrines are built to withstand future flooding so people can protect themselves, their animals and their belongings from dangerous flood waters.
	This support is delivered by the NARRI consortium of non-Government organisations (the National Alliance for Response and Risk Reduction Initiative: Oxfam (lead agency), Action Aid, CARE, Concern Worldwide, Islamic Relief, and Solidarités).

Bangladesh

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what outcomes she expects from her Katalyst Phase II project; and how the project is being implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: By the end of 2013, Katalyst II is expected to have contributed to accumulated net income increase of USD280 million for 2.3 million farmers and small businesses.
	Katalyst is implemented by a Swiss Foundation for Technical Cooperation called 'Swisscontact' in partnership with the Swiss and Canadian Government Development Agencies (SDC and CIDA) and the Netherlands Government.

Bangladesh

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the outcomes were of her Urban Primary Health Care Project 2; and how the project was implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: The Urban Primary Health Care Project provided over eight million Bangladeshis with out-patient services, 3.6 million with family planning services, and over seven million children with immunisations.
	The project was implemented by the Bangladesh local government and non-governmental organisations. The project was supported by:
	DFID;
	Asian Development Bank;
	Swedish International Development Agency;
	United Nations Fund for Population Activities; and
	Orbis International.

Bangladesh

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the outcomes were of her Education for Children with Disabilities programme; and how the project was implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: The project on ‘Promoting Rights and Access to Inclusive Education for Children with Disabilities in Rajshahi Division, Bangladesh’ was implemented by Leonard Cheshire Disability (United Kingdom) and the Centre for Disability in Development (Bangladesh). The project started in July 2008 and was completed in December 2011.
	The project was evaluated in 2012 and was assessed as having achieved most of its objectives, albeit the evaluation noted that the Government of Bangladesh would need further encouragement to help more disabled children attend mainstream schools. Project successes included:
	providing mobility devices for children; training for 37 instructors from the Primary Teachers Training Institute;
	2,430 disabled children enrolled in mainstream schools;
	2,364 disabled children retained in mainstream schools which represents 80% of children with disabilities in the project catchment area of which 99% were continuing with their education at the end of the project term;
	support to the Government of Bangladesh to implement their policy on helping disabled children attend mainstream schools as part of the National Education Programme.

Bangladesh

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the outcomes were of her Access to Information for Greater Participation and Government Accessibility project; and how the project was implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: The Access to Information for Greater Participation and Government Accessibility project was funded through the Civil Society Challenge Fund. It was managed by ‘Article 19’, an organisation that defends the right to freedom of expression, and implemented by Mass Line Media Centre, Shuprashashoner Jonno Pracharavijan, and the Bangladesh News Network for Radio Communication. The project aimed to increase accountability between the Government and poor people for more inclusive policy-making where the policy is relevant to the poor. It was implemented from March 2007 to August 2010 nationally and with a particular focus on 12 districts.
	An independent evaluation found that the project had made a ‘far-reaching’ contribution to the enactment and implementation of the 2009 Right to Information Act in Bangladesh. The project provided the Government with technical assistance while the Act was being drafted. The project trained 200 government officials in their duties under the Act. It assisted 52,000 people to understand their rights and entitlements. This meant, for example, communities were able to ask for and receive information on the selection criteria for cyclone relief and rehabilitation assistance.

Bangladesh

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the outcomes were of her project to provide support to the International Centre for Diarrhoea Research, Bangladesh for swine flu; and how the project was implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: DFID supported the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases Research, Bangladesh to set up a surveillance system and treatment unit in 2009 for patients with influenza symptoms and illness. This was in response to concern raised by the World Health Organisation about a potential pandemic.
	A dedicated treatment unit was rapidly established and medical and paramedical professionals were provided with training and information. A total of 2,208 patients were screened out of which 14 were found positive with swine flu. Regular updates were provided to Government of Bangladesh during the crisis period, and the surveillance system continues to assist Bangladesh to respond rapidly to future outbreaks.

Bangladesh

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the outcomes were of her Safe Motherhood in Rural Communities project; and how the project was implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: The project on ‘Safe Motherhood in Rural Communities’ in 23 districts in north-west Bangladesh was implemented by Lamb Health Care Foundation (United Kingdom) and Lamb Project (Bangladesh). The project started on 1 April 2006 and finished on 30 June 2009.
	The project implemented a heath care and development system benefitting approximately 600,000 people in 23 districts including:
	450 home/community Village Health Volunteers trained;
	Support to 21 local clinics, including 16 Safe Child Delivery Units, with 180 Community Health Workers in all 23 districts;
	family planning counselling to hospitals;
	a subsidy for 1,400 poor patients to be treated at the hospital without fees over three years;
	better community-based care for disabled children reaching 369 children (201 boys, 168 girls) during the project period;
	a reduction in maternal mortality in the project areas of 40% and a reduction in peri-natal mortality by 11%;
	Lamb (United Kingdom) made contributions to a Word Health Organisation (WHO) manual on Perinatal and Maternal Death Audit.
	The project evaluation undertaken in December 2009 concluded that the project had fully achieved its objectives and that the work undertaken should be sustained after the project end-date. The project partner is continuing to work with the Government of Bangladesh to ensure this.

Bangladesh

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the outcomes were of the Community Based Microfinance Initiative; and how the project was implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: The project ‘Promoting economic development of the poor through community based microfinance initiatives in Bangladesh’ was funded through the Civil Society Challenge Fund. The project was implemented by the Credit and Development Forum (CDF) across nine districts and aimed to improve access to commercial banking services for community based organisations (CBOs) and very poor people. The project started in April 2006 and was completed in March 2010.
	The project worked with 25 community organisations to provide microfinance services for their members. These organisations provided small scale finance to establish income generating activities for 32,000 poor households. The increased income that was generated has allowed those households to invest in improved family health care, education and housing.

Bangladesh

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department has taken to implement the conclusions of the Strategic Programme Review in Bangladesh; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: The Strategic Programme Review is a continuing process to ensure that DFID staff, partners, and programmes, are fully prepared to meet the challenge of climate change. In Bangladesh, the DFID office has reduced carbon emissions by 16% since 2009-10 (well on track towards a target of 25% by 2014-15). Staff have developed the knowledge and skills to ensure all programmes are effectively designed and implemented to minimise climate impacts and help build resilience in Bangladesh.
	Programmes are being designed to be more resilient to climate change impacts—for example, primary schools in vulnerable areas of Bangladesh, are being built to double as cyclone shelters.

Bangladesh

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will publish the full list of contractors and subcontractors used in the delivery of each operational project being undertaken in Bangladesh; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: The following is a list of current DFID Bangladesh projects delivered by private sector contractors. The DFID Bangladesh programme is delivered in its entirety through a range of partners including non-governmental organisations, multilateral institutions, as well as contractors. The list of subcontractors for each project is not available on the DFID system and would need to be sought separately from each programme.
	
		
			 Project Contractor Project description 
			 English In Action (EIA) BMB Mott MacDonald To improve English language skills for 25 million people through news, TV, radio, and mobile device materials, improved teacher training, and adult-learning 
			 Public Service Capacity (MATT 2) Capita Helm A critical mass of competent and reform-minded civil servants enabled to develop and deliver government policy 
			 TACTS (Tax Administration Capacity and Taxpayer Services) PricewaterhouseCoopers India To improve the Government's weak domestic revenue position, widen the tax base and promote transparency and trust in the revenue administration system 
			 Safety and Justice Maxwell Stamp Increase access to high quality informal justice mechanisms and develop a more responsive formal justice system for the poor and vulnerable, particularly women, children, ethnic and religious minorities and marginalised communities 
			 Regulatory and investment systems for enterprise growth in Bangladesh (RISE) PricewaterhouseCoopers An Improved investment climate making Bangladesh a better place for business 
			 Promoting Financial services for poverty reduction in Bangladesh (Prosper) Maxwell Stamp, CRIF Sustainable Micro-Finance sector in Bangladesh offers greater access to, and usage of, diversified financial . services for the poor, micro, small enterprises and farmers 
			 Katalyst Phase II Swisscontact, Development Alternative Inc. To increase the competitiveness of micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMSE) in key urban and rural sectors 
			 Business Innovation Fund PricewaterhouseCoopers To establish a facility which provides advice and support for businesses that want to engage poor people as part of the value chain or as end users of goods and services 
			 Economic Empowerment of the Poorest Harewelle International The purpose is to improve the livelihoods of 750,000 very poor people, particularly women and children, by increasing their economic well-being 
			 Chars Livelihoods Programme (CLP2) Maxwell Stamp To improve the food security, livelihoods and incomes of extremely poor people living on the Riverine Char Islands of North-Western Bangladesh 
			 Climate Change Programme (Jalabayoo-O-Jibon) HTSPE, International Institute for Environment and Development Climate change adaptation and risk reduction measures protect and improve the lives and livelihoods of 15 million poor and vulnerable people by 2013

Bangladesh

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the outcomes were of the Health, Nutrition and Population Sector Programme; and how the project was implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: The Health Nutrition and Population Sector programme (July 2004 to June 2011) reduced maternal deaths from 322 to 194 per 100,000 live births. Skilled birth attendance among the poorest increased from 3.4% to 9.2%. Deaths among under the age of five children reduced from 88 to 52 per 1,000 live births. Tuberculosis cure rate increased from 83.7% to 91%.
	The project was implemented by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with support from 20 development partners including the Department for International Development and the World Bank.

Bangladesh

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what outcomes she expects from the Urban Partnership for Poverty Reduction Programme; and how the project is being implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: The Urban Partnership for Poverty Reduction programme (2007 to 2014) will contribute to the development of a National Urban Poverty Reduction Strategy and encourage the local governments to take more responsibility for the urban poor. The outcomes of the programme include improved living conditions and livelihoods for 3 million slum dwellers in Bangladesh, including improved nutrition and access to safe drinking water and sanitation. It also provides skill-based training to youth, linking them to employment opportunities.
	The programme is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme through the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives.

Bangladesh

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what outcomes are expected from the Regulatory and Investment Systems for Enterprise programme; and how the project was implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: By 2015, the Regulatory and Investment System for Enterprise programme will contribute to £115 million of savings to micro, small and medium enterprises in Bangladesh that employ 80% of the labour force. The programme also aims to generate more than £900 million of foreign direct investment resulting in the creation of high quality, formal jobs for the poor.
	The programme is implemented in partnership with the World Bank and International Finance Corporation.

Bangladesh

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what outcomes were achieved by the Chars Livelihoods Programme; and how the project was implemented in Bangladesh;
	(2)  what outcomes she expects from the Chars Livelihoods Programme 2; and how the project is being implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: The Chars Livelihoods Programme—phase 1 (2006-10) helped improve the livelihoods, incomes and food security of one million extremely poor and vulnerable people living on the flood-prone remote Char islands of north-western Bangladesh. About 100,000 families were protected from flooding through raised plinths, and about 50,000 poor families are better able to feed their families.
	The Chars Livelihoods Programme—phase 2 (2010-16) will help improve the livelihoods, incomes and food security of up to one million extremely poor and vulnerable people living on the flood prone remote char islands of north-western Bangladesh. Until now, more than 100,000 people already benefitted from raised plinths, sanitary toilets and the transfer of free assets, such as cattle.
	Maxwell Stamp plc managed both programmes and is hosted by the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives. The programmes are implemented on the ground by local non-governmental organisations and elected local government bodies (Union Parishad).

Bangladesh

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what outcomes are expected from the Skills and Jobs programme; and how the project was implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: The Skills and Employment Programme of Bangladesh, which is planned to begin in 2013, aims to support 136,000 poor people to enhance their incomes by £60 million. This will involve providing access to training and jobs in growth sectors and better migration opportunities.
	A business case on the implementation options has yet to be approved.

Bangladesh

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what outcomes are expected from the Strengthening Public Expenditure Management programme; and how the project was implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: By 2015, the Strengthening Public Expenditure Management Programme aims to strengthen the systems of budgeting and financial management in the Government of Bangladesh, and improve the effectiveness of audit and parliamentary oversight of the budget and expenditure.
	DFID is contributing to a multi-donor trust fund managed by the World Bank, which also receives support from the European Union and the governments of Canada, Denmark and the Netherlands.

Bangladesh

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what outcomes are expected from the Rights and Governance Challenge Fund; and how the project was implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: By 2013, the Rights and Governance Challenge Fund, implemented by Manusher Jonno Foundation, is expected to have enabled 253,000 poor and vulnerable people to benefit from social safety net programmes, 11,700 children to be withdrawn from hazardous work, and 121,000 workers in the garments and shrimp industries to be paid on time and have improved working conditions. In 2011 alone, the programme supported 5,755 women to receive Government land that is meant to be allocated to poor people, and 7,000 boys and girls to obtain stipends from the Government to attend school.
	The Rights and Governance Challenge Fund is managed by Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF). The fund is allocated through a competitive process and currently supports around 110 small and medium-sized Bangladeshi Non-Government Organisations, and through them 300 community-based organisations across Bangladesh.

Bangladesh

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what outcomes were achieved by the Rural Electricification Development Project; and how the project was implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: By June 2010, 739,000 new households and businesses received electricity connections in rural and suburban areas in Bangladesh. The project created the infrastructural backbone for 337,000 new connections in the nine poorest areas and over half a million new connections across the rest of the country.
	The project was implemented by Rural Electrification Development Board and National Rural Electric Co-operative Association (NRECA) in partnership with USAiD.

Bangladesh

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what outcomes are expected from the Promoting Financial Services for Poverty Reduction in Bangladesh programme; and how the project was implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: The Promoting Financial Services for Poverty Reduction (PROSPER) Programme (2007-14), contributes to the strengthening of the microfinance sector in Bangladesh.
	The first component of the programme, called PRIME, is implemented through Palli Karma Sahayek Foundation (PKSF) and will provide flexible savings and loan products to 600,000 micro, and small enterprises, enabling people to pursue income-generating opportunities and so raise their living standards.
	The second component supports the establishment and operations of the Microcredit Regulatory Authority so that appropriate regulatory frameworks are developed for the microcredit institutions in the country. This helps reduce fraud and ensure the poor's savings are protected.
	The third component supports the institute of Microfinance to conduct analytical and operational research on microfinance issues, and provide standardised training to the large number of microfinance professionals in the country.

Bangladesh

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what outcomes are expected from the Bangladesh Humanitarian Preparedness and Response Programme; and how the project is being implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: The humanitarian programme allows the UK to respond quickly and effectively to disasters. Bangladesh is regularly affected by floods, cyclones, and is at risk of an earthquake. The programme will ensure that lives and livelihoods are saved, and people are assisted to recover and build their resilience through a faster, more flexible model for response, better preparation, and easier access to assist people in remote areas.
	In January 2012, 150,000 people received emergency cash transfers for one month to meet immediate food needs following persistent flooding in southern Bangladesh. This support was delivered by the World Food Programme. Implementing partners for future responses will be decided according to partner capacity, with clear criteria to ensure effective response and value for money. Logistical services are supported through the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF).

Bangladesh

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what outcomes were achieved by the Skills and Opportunities for Employment Programme; and how the project was implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: Under the Skills and Opportunities for Employment Programme (2008-11) 20,993 children (51% girls) graduated from Grade VIII and 16,879 (40% girls) received technical training of whom 90% secured employment.
	This programme was implemented by Underprivileged Children's Education Programme (UCEP) a Bangladeshi non-governmental organisation.

Bangladesh

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what outcomes were achieved by the Bangladesh Budget Support for Roads and Highways Department Programme; and how the project was implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: The Bangladesh Budget Support for Roads and Highways Department Programme was designed to improve their central management system (CMS) for road maintenance and establish a road maintenance fund.
	In 2007, the programme was cancelled due to fiduciary irregularities.
	The programme was implemented by the Roads and Highways Department of the Government of Bangladesh under the Ministry of Communication.

Bangladesh

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what outcomes were achieved by the Financial Management Reform Programme; and how the project was implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: Between 2003 and 2009, the Financial Management Reform Programme (FMRP) strengthened the links between policy, planning and budgeting in the Government of Bangladesh, by introducing a medium term budget framework in 20 line ministries and a computerised integrated budget and accounting system in 50 line ministries.
	The programme was implemented by the Atos KPMG Consulting Consortium, with joint funding from the UK and the Netherlands.

Bangladesh

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the outcomes were of the BRAC Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction-Phase 2 Project; and how the project was implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: The BRAC Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction-Phase 2 project (2007 to 2011) helped improve the livelihoods, incomes and food security of 1 million extreme poor people of 40 poorest districts across Bangladesh through transfer of free assets such as cattle, monthly stipends, employment and enterprise training and access to health services. Evaluations show beneficiaries continue to remain out of extreme poverty after the end of the project.
	The project was implemented by BRAC, the largest NGO in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what outcomes are expected from the Health Sector Development Programme; and how the project is being implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: The Health Sector Development Programme supports the Government of Bangladesh to provide public health services to the 150 million people in the country. The intended outcomes include providing 2.1 million pregnant women with access to antenatal care and 6 million with skilled birth assistance by 2016. In addition 6 million children under two years of age will be immunised and 18 million will receive Vitamin A annually.
	The programme is implemented by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with fiduciary oversight provided by the World Bank. The programme is supported by 21 development partners including the Department for International Development and the World Bank.

Bangladesh

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what outcomes are expected from the Strategic Partnership between BRAC, her Department and AusAID to support BRAC in delivering progress towards the millennium development goals in Bangladesh and to support institutional development; and how the project is being implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: Over five years, UK support through the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) will enable BRAC to lift 166,000 women and their families (over 660,000 people) out of extreme poverty; get 176,000 children through five years of primary education; enable 3.2 million additional couples to use modern contraceptive methods; ensure that 608,000 women are attended by skilled attendants when they deliver their babies; provide improved sanitation to 3.6 million people; and give over 250,000 people access to safe water. In addition, the SPA will strengthen BRAC's institutional capacity and long-term sustainability, to ensure their ability to provide basic services into the future.

Electoral Reform International Services

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much (a) her Department and (b) the Westminster Foundation for Democracy donated to Electoral Reform International Services in each of the last three years.

Lynne Featherstone: Between April 2009 and October 2012, DFID provided approximately £226,000 to Electoral Reform International Services (ERIS). £32,000 was provided to ERIS in financial year 2009-10, £172,000 in 2010-11, and £22,000 in financial year 2010-11. No payments have so far been made this financial year.
	The Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) is a non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, with several sources of funding. DFID does not keep full information on all of WFD's expenditure. No departmental funds have been transferred to ERIS through WFD.

Maldives

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding has been spent on the Maldives by the multilateral aid organisations with which her Department works.

Alan Duncan: The website of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development—Development Assistance Committee (OECD—DAC) reports on the level of Official Development Assistance to the Maldives, and lists some of the multilateral aid agencies with whom DFID works.
	OECD—DAC information on the Maldives:
	http://www.oecd.org/dac/aidstatistics/1882072.gif

Overseas Aid

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her Department's definition of supported is in relation to the provision of development aid; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: “Supported” can refer to a range of assistance to help towards delivery of development goals. This could be financial or non financial support, such as technical assistance.

Atos Healthcare

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff were employed by Atos Healthcare to work on the work capability assessment in (a) the UK and (b) Scotland in each month in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012 to date.

Mark Hoban: Data on the number of staff employed by Atos Healthcare to work specifically on the work capability assessment (WCA) is not available. Atos Healthcare headcount is recorded nationally against the DWP Medical Services Contract which extends beyond delivery of the WCA.

Employment: Advisory Services

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to widen access to bodies which may provide advice and guidance with respect to employment issues.

Mark Hoban: There is no monopoly on providing advice about employment issues. Individuals are free to take advice from a range of organisations including Jobcentre Plus, Work programme providers, and other DWP contracted providers—all of whom will signpost to other appropriate sources of advice as necessary. Individuals are also free to take advice from non-government dependent organisations. Advice can also be found on the recently launched GOV.UK which replaces the Directgov and Business Link websites.

New Enterprise Allowance

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the Government receives revenue from the interest charged on new business loans in the New Enterprise Scheme.

Mark Hoban: The Government retains a minimum of one third of the interest charged on loans awarded under the new enterprise allowance scheme. That proportion may increase by up to a further third, depending on the performance of the loan service providers.

Remploy

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to respond to the proposal by Disability Employment Limited to acquire plant and premises at the former Wrexham Remploy site.

Esther McVey: Remploy have received a number of proposals for the site/assets which are currently under consideration, Remploy will be shortly contacting the bidders to clarify the position and confirm the next steps.

Social Security Benefits

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have been claiming (a) jobseeker's allowance, (b) carer's allowance, (c) disability living allowance and (d) employment and support allowance for more than six months in the latest period for which figures are available; and what estimate he has made of the total value of spending on such benefits in each of the next three years.

Mark Hoban: Statistics on carers allowance and employment and support allowance by duration of claim are available from DWP 100% actual data for May 2012 and are published at:
	www.nomisweb.co.uk
	the claimant count figures for jobseeker's allowance, latest figures September 2012, can also be found there.
	Statistics on disability living allowance for claimants are available for February 2012 and are published at:
	http://83.244.183.180/100pc/dla/ccsex/ctdurtn/a_carate_r_ccsex_c_ctdurtn_feb12.html
	Guidance for users is available at
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/guidance.pdf

Social Security Benefits: British Nationals Abroad

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people living outside the UK receive non-contributory benefits; and what the total monetary value of those benefits is estimated to be in each of the next three years.

Mark Hoban: holding answer 19 October 2012
	The available information is in the following tables:
	
		
			 2011-12 
			  Caseload 
			 Attendance Allowance (August 2011) 1,090 
			 Carers Allowance 230 
			 Disability Living Allowance 4,210 
			 Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (December 2011) 6,500 
			 Severe Disablement Allowance 470 
			 State Pension Category D 520 
			 Winter Fuel Payments (2011-12) 74,685 
		
	
	
		
			  2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 
			 Expenditure, nominal (£ million)    
			 Attendance Allowance 83 131 185 
			 Carers Allowance 1 1 1 
			 Disability Living Allowance 12 13 12 
			 Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit 13 13 13 
			 Severe Disablement Allowance 2 2 0 
			 State Pension Category D n/a n/a n/a 
			 Winter Fuel Payments 12 12 12 
			 Total 123 171 223 
			     
			 Expenditure, 2012-13 prices (£ million)    
			 Attendance Allowance 83 128 176 
			 Carers Allowance 1 1 1 
			 Disability Living Allowance 12 12 12 
			 Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit 13 13 12 
			 Severe Disablement Allowance 2 2 0 
			 State Pension Category D n/a n/a n/a 
		
	
	
		
			 Winter Fuel Payments 12 12 11 
			 Total 123 167 213 
			 Notes: 1. Caseload data reflect position as at February 2012 unless otherwise stated. 2. AA expenditure is forecast to increase due to the July 2011 ruling about exportability of benefits to EEA and Switzerland. 3. State pension Category D spending for overseas claimants is not separately identified in the forecasts. 4. Figures may include a very small amount of expenditure where the claimant's residence is not known. 5. Benefit expenditure data, including overseas figures, can be found on the DWP website at: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/index.php?page=expenditure Source: Statistical and accounting data

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Aberconwy have had a sanction applied for refusing to take employment since May 2010.

Mark Hoban: Statistics on how many people in Aberconwy constituency who have had a sanction applied for refusing to take employment since May 2010 are only available for jobseekers allowance (JSA) claimants, which are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Number of JSA claimants in Aberconwy constituency who have had a sanction applied for refusing employment: 1 May 2010 to 30 April 2012 
			 Area Number of JSA claimants 
			 Aberconwy Constituency 70 
			 Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Source: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate: JSA Sanctions and Disallowance Decisions Statistics Database 
		
	
	Statistics on how many people in Aberconwy constituency who have had a sanction applied for refusing to take employment since May 2010 for non JSA claimants are not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Arms Trade: Treaties

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent progress has been made on agreeing the Arms Trade Treaty; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The UN Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty took place in July. The UK continued its leading role at the conference and, although a treaty was not adopted, significant progress was made.
	The UK is now co-authoring a Resolution at the UN General Assembly First Committee, currently under way in New York, to set the timing and modalities for a further short conference in March 2013 to finalise work on the treaty. The UK will continue to lead international efforts to secure a robust and effective arms trade treaty that has the broad support of the UN Membership.

British Indian Ocean Territory

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Commissioner and Administrator of British Indian Ocean Territory are answerable to Ministers in his Department as officials of his Department or whether they constitute an autonomous government of an overseas territory.

Mark Simmonds: The Commissioner and Administrator of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) are part of the Government of BIOT, a constitutionally distinct government of an overseas territory of the UK. Their relationship to UK Ministers is constitutionally comparable to the relationship of the governments of all overseas territories with UK Ministers. These relationships are set out in the respective overseas territories' constitutions. The constitutional position of the BIOT Government is set out in the BIOT Constitution.
	I will arrange for a copy of the BIOT Constitution to be placed in the Library of the House.

Indonesia

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will ask the President of Indonesia for what reason Indonesia rejected the recommendation in the Universal Periodic Review carried out by the UN Human Rights Council that steps be taken to safeguard the rights of indigenous peoples.

Hugo Swire: The Government of Indonesia has responded to recommendations on the rights of indigenous people made during its Universal Periodic Review in May this year. The recommendation was to ensure the rights of indigenous peoples and local forest dependent peoples in law and practice, in particular regarding their rights to traditional lands, territories and resources.
	The Government of Indonesia has said it supports the promotion and protection of indigenous people worldwide. However, given its demographic composition Indonesia does not recognise the application of the indigenous people concept as defined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the country.
	The UK promotes best practice by encouraging all states to submit effective responses to their Universal Periodic Review recommendations. We will continue to raise issues with respect to indigenous people with the Government of Indonesia at every appropriate opportunity.

Indonesia

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on Indonesia's response to the recommendations of its Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council; and if he will discuss that response with the President of Indonesia during his forthcoming State visit.

Hugo Swire: On 5 September 2012 Indonesia presented its report to the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in response to the UPR review it underwent in May 2012. They received 180 recommendations, accepted 150 and rejected 30. A UK official who was present noted that the delegation were quite open about the fact that they still faced a number of challenges to their human rights performance. External factors such as extremism were still having a big influence over how they handled human rights issues. The UPR is a subsidiary of the Human Rights Council and both are political bodies/mechanisms. It is good practice for states to give reasons why they have rejected recommendations but it is not always done.
	It is our policy to encourage effective responses and implementation of recommendations. We have taken note of Indonesia's response to their recommendations. Our embassy in Jakarta engages regularly with the Government of Indonesia on human rights issues bilaterally and through the EU and stands ready to offer advice or guidance should Indonesia require our help.

Indonesia

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will discuss allegations of rising religious intolerance and violations of freedom of religion or belief in Indonesia with the President of that country during his forthcoming State visit to the UK.

Hugo Swire: We are concerned about individuals and groups in Indonesia who are denied the right to freedom of religion or belief, or who face discrimination and persecution. We have raised the difficulties that religious minorities experience in Indonesia with the Indonesian Government. In our statement for Indonesia's Universal Periodic Review in May this year, we encouraged the Government to tackle violence against minority faiths, ensure that those who perpetrate these acts are brought to justice and promote a climate where such incidents do not reoccur.
	The Prime Minister, during his speech at the Al Azhar university in Jakarta in April this year, referred to freedom of religion and highlighted
	“the vital importance of standing up against the despicable violence and persecution of minorities, whether Christians, Ahmadiyyas, or others; and ensuring that people have the right to live their lives, and practise their religion in the way they see fit.”

Indonesia

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will discuss the human rights situation in West Papua with the President of Indonesia during his forthcoming State visit to the UK.

Hugo Swire: We regularly discuss the situation in the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua with the Indonesian Government. We take seriously all reports of human rights violations in the provinces and we will continue to raise our concerns with the Government of Indonesia.
	During the state visit, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) will meet his counterpart the Foreign Minister of Indonesia Mr Marty Natalegawa, and the Prime Minister will meet with the President where there will be an opportunity to raise these issues.

Indonesia

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will encourage the President of Indonesia to establish a meaningful dialogue with representatives of the people of West Papua, to seek a peaceful political solution to the Papuan conflict.

Hugo Swire: The UK encourages meaningful dialogue between all parties and remains committed to urging all levels of government to work with the Papuans towards solving their regional governance disputes peacefully.
	During the state visit, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), will meet his counterpart the Foreign Minister of Indonesia Mr Marty Natalegawa, and the Prime Minister will meet with the President where there will be an opportunity to raise these issues.

Indonesia

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will encourage the President of Indonesia to invite the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression to visit (a) West Papua and (b) other parts of Indonesia in 2013.

Hugo Swire: During the Indonesian universal periodic review (UPR) session in May 2012 the UK noted that no Special Rapporteur had visited Indonesia since 2007, and the UK encouraged Indonesia to accept requests for visits to take place. In September of this year a response to the UPR recommendations confirmed that the Government has extended an invitation to the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression. The plans regarding the dates and modalities are currently the subject of consultation between the Government and the Special Rapporteur. We would encourage the Indonesian Government to allow complete, unhindered and unfettered access to all provinces of Indonesia. However, it is up to the country concerned how much access they will be given.

Indonesia

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will encourage the President of Indonesia to invite the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion or Belief to visit that country in 2013.

Hugo Swire: Indonesia underwent its universal period review in May 2012. The UK statement noted the increasing attacks against religious minorities and we specifically recommended that Indonesia accept a visit by the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief. We continue to encourage Indonesia to accept such visits.

Indonesia

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will urge the President of Indonesia to revise or repeal that country's blasphemy law and its ministerial decrees on religion, and to take steps to end discriminatory policies towards religious minorities and ensure full protection for freedom of religion and belief.

Hugo Swire: We believe that freedom of religion or belief, and respect for religious plurality should be at the heart of society. Indonesia's own constitution enshrines these values. We continue to monitor the Indonesian authorities' policies towards freedom of religion issues, including the blasphemy law and 2008 Joint Ministerial Decree. Along with our EU partners, we will continue to call for religious tolerance across Indonesia and press the authorities to ensure the rights of all religious minorities.

Indonesia

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will discuss with the President of Indonesia the potential effects on the rule of law in that country of the decision by certain local mayors to refuse permission for churches to open; and if he will offer Indonesia assistance in the development, protection and promotion of the rule of law.

Hugo Swire: During the forthcoming state visit of the President of the Republic of Indonesia, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), will meet his counterpart the Foreign Minister of Indonesia Mr Marty Natalegawa, and the Prime Minister will meet the President where there will be an opportunity to raise these and other issues. Our embassy in Jakarta is already using funds to support building democratic institutions in Indonesia. This includes a project with civil society and the police to develop and disseminate guidelines on dealing with cases related to religious freedom run by the non-governmental organisation Kontras Indonesia.

Indonesia

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what training his Department has provided to Indonesia's Densus 88 through the Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Co-operation; what evaluations has it made of that training; what discussions concerning the training have taken place with Indonesian civil society organisations; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the most recent impact assessment of such training.

Hugo Swire: Our training with the Indonesian National Police (and specifically with Densus (Detachment 88) at Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Co-operation (JCLEC)) is focused on combating terrorism. Classroom-based training run by a training officer from the Metropolitan police force shares the UK experience in managing counter-terrorism investigations and preventing terrorist attacks; and in the investigation and prosecution of those who are responsible in a way that is compliant with international human rights standards. We evaluate projects looking at impact, deliverability and value for money. JCLEC’s intended outputs are closely aligned with the UK’s counter-terrorism CONTEST strategy and our assessment to date is that through the training at JCLEC the UK has contributed positively to Indonesia’s ability to disrupt terrorist networks operating in the region. Our embassy in Jakarta has an ongoing dialogue with civil society organisations covering a wide range of issues. The UK’s support for Indonesia’s work against terrorism is discussed as part of the regular dialogue about our bilateral relationship.

Indonesia

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what UK-supplied military equipment is used by the Indonesian counter-terrorism organisation Densus 88; what guidelines have been issued to the British embassy in Indonesia concerning the end-use monitoring of UK-supplied military equipment; and, if he will place a copy of those guidelines in the Library.

Hugo Swire: The UK has not licensed the export of any goods or technology from the UK Military List for use by Densus 88 in the past 13 years, which are the years for which electronic records are available. Guidance on the end-use monitoring of UK-supplied military equipment is made available to all Posts. Disclosure of this internal guidance could prejudice the effective conduct of our Posts' activity; thus I do not propose to place a copy in the House Library.

Nigeria

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the extent of religious persecution in Nigeria; and what representations he has made to the Nigerian government on such persecution.

Mark Simmonds: We assess that Nigeria is a tolerant nation, however attacks by violent extremists have sought to provoke religious division. Such attacks, as well as inter-communal violence, have caused suffering in both Christian and Muslim communities in Nigeria. Responsibility for many of these attacks, including increasingly those against places of worship, has been claimed by the Islamic extremist group popularly known as Boko Haram. Boko Haram has also claimed responsibility for attacks against political and traditional leaders, as well as members of Nigeria's security forces. The British Government condemns all such instances of violence, and we regularly call for those responsible to be brought to justice and for the Government of Nigeria to ensure the protection of all Nigerian citizens. The most recent occasion was during the visit by the three Permanent Secretaries of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Development and Ministry of Defence in September.

Somalia

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on levels of human trafficking in Somalia; and what discussions he has had with his Somali counterpart on human trafficking.

Mark Simmonds: We take human trafficking very seriously and recognise that it is a prevalent problem in the horn of Africa. We are committed to tackling human trafficking both on a national and global scale and supporting the work being carried out by the International Organisation for Migration and other organisations in the region to help tackle this crime. The UK is working closely with Somali, African Union and international partners to ensure the protection of human rights throughout Somalia, including by developing the government's capacity to tackle human rights issues such as human trafficking. This is in line with the aims of our Human Trafficking Strategy.
	Somalia is not one of the major source countries for trafficking victims to the UK. Since January 2012, three Somali nationals have been referred to the UK's national. referral mechanism as potential victims.

Sri Lanka

Steven Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the treatment and situation of Tamils returned to Sri Lanka by the UK in the last year.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office monitors the human rights situation in Sri Lanka and our high commission maintains an oversight of the returns process. The UK does not monitor unsuccessful asylum seekers who have returned to their country of origin as they are, by definition, foreign nationals who have been found as a matter of law not to need the UK's protection and who had no legal basis of stay in the UK.
	The UK takes its international responsibilities seriously and fully complies with all of its international obligations under the 1951 United Nations convention relating to the status of refugees and the European convention on human rights. The British Government also regularly urges the Sri Lankan Government to improve the human rights situation for vulnerable groups and to investigate incidents that happen and prosecute those responsible.
	Where asylum seekers can demonstrate they face a real risk of persecution or ill-treatment on return to Sri Lanka, they are granted protection in the UK. Returns are enforced only if it is safe to do so and the UK Border Agency is satisfied that the individual has no international protection needs. All decisions have a right of appeal where they are evaluated by the independent Tribunal Service for Immigration and Asylum. The European Court of Human Rights has endorsed our policy that not all Tamil asylum seekers are in need of international protection.

ACAS

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will undertake an investigation into the efficacy and impartiality of the advice given by the ACAS helpline.

Jo Swinson: ACAS takes its responsibilities to ensure that it gives callers accurate and impartial advice very seriously. ACAS regularly monitors customers' usage, experiences and attitudes towards the ACAS helpline. The following results are based on the most recent independent evaluation of the ACAS helpline published in August 2012:
	Impartiality :
	94% of callers agreed that the helpline adviser presented the information in an impartial way.
	Quality of advice :
	93% of callers agreed that the helpline adviser was knowledgeable;
	86% of callers agreed that the information provided answered their inquiry in full;
	85% of callers agreed that the information provided helped them decide what to do next (this is quoted in the 2011/12 annual report 'performance against customer satisfaction targets' against a target of 70%);
	87% of callers agreed that the information provided in their call was valuable to them.
	Overall satisfaction:
	94% of callers were satisfied overall with the service they received from the ACAS helpline.
	ACAS has a comprehensive programme of development for its advisers to ensure they are kept up to date and managers work closely with staff including listening to call recordings to ensure that advice given meets its standards.

Apprentices: Ashfield

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people started Government apprenticeships in Ashfield constituency in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012 to date.

Matthew Hancock: Table 1 shows the number of apprenticeship programme starts in Ashfield parliamentary constituency for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 academic years based on final year data and for the 2011-12 academic year based on provisional data.
	Provisional data for the 2011-12 academic year provide an early view of performance and will change as further data returns are received from further education colleges and providers. Figures for 2011-12 will be finalised in January 2013. They should not be directly compared with final year data from previous years.
	
		
			 Table 1: Apprenticeship programme starts in Ashfield parliamentary constituency, 2009-10 to 2011-12 (1) 
			  Final Provisional 
			  2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Ashfield parliamentary constituency 710 1,270 1,430 
			 (1)Provisional. Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest ten. 2. Geographic breakdowns are based upon the home postcode of the learner. 3. Figures are based on the geographic boundaries as of May 2010. Source: Individualised Learner Record. 
		
	
	Information on the number of apprenticeship starts by geography is published in a supplementary table to a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 11 October 2012:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_supplementary_tables/Apprenticeship_sfr_supplementary_tables/

Females: Directors

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his policy is on the proposal by the European Commission to institute a mandatory quota on the number of women on company boards.

Jo Swinson: We have received no formal announcement from the European Commission as to their proposed policy for Women on Boards.
	The Government agree with the Commission that increasing the representation of women on the boards of UK listed companies is an important issue. However we are not in favour of EU legislation or regulation, including quotas. National level solutions are best and evidence shows that the UK's voluntary business-led approach is working.

Graduates

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of graduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects from universities in England in the last three years were UK nationals; and what proportion of students registered for postgraduate degrees in such subjects in England are UK nationals.

David Willetts: The latest available information on the proportion of undergraduate qualifiers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects from universities in England who were of UK nationality is shown in Table 1 for the academic years 2008/09 to 2010/11. Information on the proportion of postgraduate enrolments in science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects at universities in England who were of UK nationality is shown in Table 2.
	Information for the 2011/12 academic year will become available from the Higher Education Statistics Agency in January 2013.
	
		
			 Table 1: UK National undergraduate qualifiers by subject of study English higher education institutions, academic years 2008/09 to 2010/11 
			  2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 
			 Subject area Enrolments Of w hich: UK Nationals % UK Nationals Enrolments Of  w hich: UK Nationals % UK Nationals Enrolments Of w hich: UK Nationals % UK Nationals 
			 STEM 166,120 129,255 77.8 172,380 132,970 77.1 177.320 136,685 77.1 
			 Non-STEM 231.810 175,295 75.6 245,660 185,080 75.3 256,665 191,360 74.6 
			 Total 397,930 304,550 76.5 418,045 318,050 76.1 433,985 328,045 75.6 
			 Notes: 1. Figures are based on a HESA standard registration population and have been rounded up or down to the nearest five, so components may not sum to totals. 2. Percentages are calculated on unrounded figures and are given to 1 decimal place. 3. STEM: Science, Technology. Engineering and Mathematics Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: UK National postgraduate enrolments (1)  by subject of study English higher education institutions, academic years 2008/09 to 2010/11 
			  2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 
			 Subject area Enrolments Of which: UK Nationals % UK Nationals Enrolments Of which: UK Nationals % UK Nationals Enrolments Of which: UK Nationals % UK Nationals 
			 STEM 165,775 89,305 53.9 180,365 96.855 53.7 181,115 96,555 53.3 
		
	
	
		
			 Non-STEM 283,540 165,125 58.2 304,965 175,190 57.4 310,280 177,630 57.2 
			 Total 449,315 254,430 56.6 485,335 272,040 56.1 491,395 274,185 55.8 
			 (1) Covers students in all years of study. Notes: 1. Figures are based on a HESA standard registration population and have been rounded up or down to the nearest five, so components may not sum to totals. 2. Percentages are calculated on unrounded figures and are given to 1 decimal place. 3. STEM: Science. Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency {HESA) Student Record

Wind Power

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the skills gap that exists in relation to the potential for offshore wind development in the UK; and what steps he plans to take to address that gap.

Matthew Hancock: The UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) investigated skills issues and published "Maximising employment and skills in the offshore wind supply chain" in August 2011. In addition, Energy and Utility Skills (EU Skills), the Sector Skills Council for the renewable energy industry, and RenewableUK, produced "Working for a Green Britain: Vol 2, Future Employment and Skills in the UK Wind and Marine Industries" (July 2011). These sources provide a good assessment of the skills required for the future offshore wind industry.
	In terms of activity, there has been significant success for the offshore sector in securing skills capacity funding managed by UKCES. For example, RenewableUK received support to establish a Renewable Training Network aiming to tackle skills shortages in the renewable energy sector and EU Skills received funding to create a Group Skills Purchasing Scheme to support the provision of quality assured training addressing the skills needed for the delivery of renewable energy. There is also a range of initiatives aiming to increase awareness of green skills, such as information provided through the National Careers Service and improving green skills provision in the Further Education sector through the work of the Learning and Skills Improvement Service.